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In 1325, the great Arab traveler Ibn Battutah set out from his native Tangier in North Africa on pilgrimage to Mecca. By the time he returned nearly thirty years later, he had seen most of the known world, covering three times the distance allegedly traveled by the great Venetian explorer Marco Polo—some 75,000 miles in all.
Captivated by Ibn Battutah's account of his journey, the Arabic scholar and award-winning travel writer Tim Mackintosh-Smith set out to follow in the peripatetic Moroccan's footsteps. Traversing Egyptian deserts and remote islands in the Arabian Sea, visiting castles in Syria and innumerable souks in medieval Islam's great cities, Mackintosh-Smith sought clues to Ibn Battutah's life and times, encountering the ghost of "IB" in everything from place names (in Tangier alone, a hotel, street, airport, and ferry bear IB's name), to dietary staples to an Arabic online dating service— and introducing us to a world of unimaginable wonders.
By necessity, Mackintosh-Smith's journey may have cut some corners ("I only wish I had the odd thirty years to spare, and Ibn Battutah's enviable knack of extracting large amounts of cash, robes and slaves from compliant rulers.") But in this wry, evocative, and uniquely engaging travelogue, he spares no effort in giving readers an unforgettable glimpse into both the present-day and fourteenth-century Islamic worlds.
| Price | Condition | Delivery | Seller | Action |
| $99.99 | Digital |
| WonderClub |
miguel vera
reviewed Travels with a Tangerine: From Morocco to Turkey in the Footsteps of Islam's Greatest Traveler on August 03, 2012 Travels with a Tangerine: From Morocco to Turkey in the Footsteps of Islam's Greatest Traveler
This is going to be a really objective review.
The book is about an intelligent and witty Englishman who travels through the Middle East in the footsteps of a great Islamic travel writer.
Alright, so I lied. I would have given five stars without reading a single page. But I did read it, and I discovered some other reasons for doing so :).
Tim Mackintosh-Smith starts out from Ibn Battutah's underwhelming tomb in Tangiers, Morocco, and journeys through Egypt, Syria, Oman, Turkey and the Crimea. Ibn Battutah himself had travelled further than that, even reaching China, but these places offer more than enough material for one book.
The author recounts Ibn Battutah's writings, meets people who can tell him more, and then compares what he has heard to his own experiences. This leads to an interesting portrait. You see how difficult it is to travel those routes today, but that it was way more difficult in the 14th century. The perception of travellers, of the importance of culture and religion has changed as well, and it is fascinating to see this documented.
Mackintosh-Smith brings his own sense of humour, which is something I always love in a travel writer. He's not offensive, but he is very cheeky at times. In all his observations you can feel his love for the subject, and it is always an enjoyable read for me when I can see that the author enjoyed it.
Every now and then, his explanations are accompanied by illustrations, done by Martin Yeoman. They feel like the sort of unfinished sketches you would do if you saw something on a journey and that makes them feel authentic. (I also like it because I can then imagine what the finished painting - or place - might look like and as a result I spend more time with those than with finished paintings.)
Mackintosh-Smith has also presented a travel documentary for the BBC that follows this book. After reading this I really want to see it.
When Tim Mackintosh-Smith reaches the end of his journey in Istanbul, there isn't a lot of reflection. (There isn't in the rest of the book either. This isn't about finding yourself, it is about tje joy of experiencing foreign places.)
Indeed, there isn't even a real goodbye. Mackintosh-Smith seems to think that he will be back in Ibn Battutah's footsteps before long. I would gladly join him. And I can do so, Hall of a Thousand Columns and Landfalls: On the Edge of Islam with Ibn Battutah are out already.
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Add Travels with a Tangerine: From Morocco to Turkey in the Footsteps of Islam's Greatest Traveler, In 1325, the great Arab traveler Ibn Battutah set out from his native Tangier in North Africa on pilgrimage to Mecca. By the time he returned nearly thirty years later, he had seen most of the known world, covering three times the distance allegedly trave, Travels with a Tangerine: From Morocco to Turkey in the Footsteps of Islam's Greatest Traveler to the inventory that you are selling on WonderClubX
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Add Travels with a Tangerine: From Morocco to Turkey in the Footsteps of Islam's Greatest Traveler, In 1325, the great Arab traveler Ibn Battutah set out from his native Tangier in North Africa on pilgrimage to Mecca. By the time he returned nearly thirty years later, he had seen most of the known world, covering three times the distance allegedly trave, Travels with a Tangerine: From Morocco to Turkey in the Footsteps of Islam's Greatest Traveler to your collection on WonderClub |
